Opting to improve the onboarding process allows you to give your new hires the incentive and motivation they need to succeed – and successful, happy employees are more likely to stick around. Satisfaction is about more than money; by giving your workers the tools they need to integrate into your unique corporate culture, you provide them with a reason to stick around for the long term.

1. Create a Process
The onboarding process should be an experience your employees will appreciate and remember; taking the time to come up with a detailed plan for each step can help you stay on track. If you simply throw together some paperwork, pass the new employee off to someone else or wing it, you are missing out on valuable opportunities to engage your new team member.
Coming up with a detailed onboarding process plan that clearly defines each step ensures that your new employee receives every bit of training they need to succeed. It also ensures that your newest team member is properly welcomed and introduced not only to their own job, but to your company and culture as a whole. Write out the steps once, create a target timeline and then use this plan for each and every new employee. This process also ensures that every new hire is treated the same way and that each new team member gets all of the components they need to thrive at work.

2. Take a Multimodal Approach
Sitting a new hire down with a huge stack of paperwork and worksheets is a sure way to make them lose interest in the process. Incorporate a variety of media into the process. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, using video, in person talks, classroom lectures, written presentations and online learning can help improve employee retention and make the onboarding process more engaging for your new team members.

3. Seek and Incorporate Feedback
Your new hires can be a valuable source of information; you’ve planned an onboarding process, but they’ve actually experienced it. Taking the time to gather their opinions, perception of the experience and the things that they would have liked to know about can help you improve your onboarding process. Tracking feedback and outcomes over time can also help you identify your most successful onboarding techniques or steps and determine which parts of the process you need to revisit. Treating onboarding like a living, changing process ensures that you are always able to adapt and improve and that you are truly getting the best possible results from your efforts.

4. Give a Realistic Idea of the Job
Overstating or overselling the job can lead to problems during the onboarding process or during the first few months. A new hire with overly high or unrealistic expectations can feel let down if the job responsibilities or opportunities turn out to be underwhelming. Make sure your new team member knows what they are signing on for, what to expect from the position, and what they need to do to be successful in the role before you make a hiring decision and you’ll be less likely to lose a talented employee who becomes disillusioned with the company or job.

5. Set a Comfortable Pace
Onboarding is more of a marathon than a sprint; rushing employees through the process can backfire. Giving your new hires the time they need to settle in slowly can help them fully integrate and become a part of your corporate culture. Try to rush them through the process and you’ll be missing out on valuable opportunities to bond with your new team member; you’ll also be forcing them to choose between mastering their job duties and learning about the company’s culture. Allowing new hires the time they need to truly feel at home can boost retention considerably, according to human resource specialists at the Wynhurst Group.

6. Explain the Jargon and Culture
Your business has its own tone, culture and language; dropping a new hire into the mix without explaining your lingo sets them up to be outsiders. Make sure that you explain not only the corporate buzzwords, lingo and acronyms you use, but that you fill new hires in on any inside jokes, traditions and other important bits of your company’s culture. Think of it as adding a glossary or a translator to your business and make sure you interpret thing for your new hire as they settle in. Giving your new team member some context and insight allows them to be part of the team and to truly get the tone and theme of your business culture.

7. Get InvolvedAccording to researchers at MIT, the manager of a new hire plays an important part in that employee’s success. For many workers, the relationship and level of comfort an employee has with their manager or supervisor is the key factor that determines how long an employee will stick with a company. If you delegate so much that you are distant from your new team member, you should consider getting more involved in the onboarding process.

Ready to learn more about what your new hires truly think of your onboarding process? Our unique survey solutions allow you to gain valuable insight to help you improve your staff onboarding process. Contact us to learn more about the process and to discover what timely and relevant survey results can do for you.

Why not have a look at PeoplePulse today?

If you are interested in a demonstration of our online onboarding feedback tool, please click here to request a demo.

Alternatively contact PeoplePulse on ph +61 2 9232 0172 to discuss how we may be able to help you